Percantage ? Feeding ?

[Arron]

Most folks that have Bearded dragons, say when a adult beardies reach adult hood, to give 80% veg ect and 20% insects. How does this work in the wild then? Who tells them to slow down on the insects and up the veg ? Is their any links to study out there that mentions this? From some documentrys i have watched, they seem to eat what ever they can get hold of in the wild? Thanks...

Arron.

 

[DaisyDragon123]

You have to keep in mind that these documentaries only show a snippet in time in a dragon's life. I would imagine that dragons in the wild don't eat daily, at least not all the time. And they will eat whatever they come across, spiders, lizards, vegetation, flowers.

In captivity they have everything provided for them. They don't have the opportunity to roam and caloric needs are not as high in captivity. All the breeders and vet websites I have read give the adult diet 75/25 or 80/20 with juvenille diets being reversed in favor of more protein.

The captive diet does mimic the wild, just given in the proportions suitable for a more sedentary dragon in captivity.

 

[Arron]

Thank you Daisy Dragon for that.
Any one else have any more opinions or experiences ?

 

[CooperDragon]

I agree. We can't exactly imitate what they do in the wild. They go for longer periods without food and are opportunistic feeders from what I've read. The switch to veges has a lot to do with their metabolism slowing down as they reach adulthood. Dragons who are given a lot of bugs, especially fatty bugs, tend to become overweight and suffer with issues such as fatty liver disease. After about 12-18 months (depends on the dragon and growth rate) I've had good luck offering bugs every few days but making a salad available daily. With the younger dragons, they are growing so quickly they need lots of protein. I still offer them salad but they really seem to prefer the bugs so that's what they get. They don't seem to get overweight because of it until they are fully grown.

 

[Arron]

Makes a lot of sense that Cooper, thanks.